Cycle race chiefs in talks over return of London stage

Tour de France organisers today began trying to hammer out a deal to see a stage of the race return to London without any sign of a breakthrough in the bitter rift which could threaten this year’s event.

No dates have yet been fixed but after the capital’s successful staging of last year’s opening Grand Depart, a stage could be on the cards by 2010 with the Grand Depart returning after the London 2012 Olympics.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme, in Britain for talks with London Mayor Ken Livingstone, said: “Yes, we shall come back.

“We were so impressed by the London Grand Depart 2007 (opening weekend of the race) and the working relationship that we have, that we can’t not consider coming back.”

But dark clouds still shroud the first major race of the season, this weekend’s Paris-Nice race.

Bitter relations remain between cycling’s biggest power brokers – the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the tour organiser, and UCI, the sport’s governing body.

UCI president Pat McQuaid is angry with the organiser’s decision to manage the race only under French law rather than the governing body’s jurisdiction.

The ASO intend to organise Paris-Nice “under the exclusive jurisdiction of French law” – or under the governance of the French Cycling Federation rather than the UCI.

The UCI have responded by instructing all professional teams not to take part in “a purely private event, with no links to organised sport or to the Olympic movement, of which the UCI are the sole organ of reference for all disciplines of cycling”.

With the threat of suspension for racing in ASO events, fears have been raised that the best riders in the world will not come to the Tour de France.

Prudhomme said: “I cannot believe that a professional organisation will allow more than 100 cyclists to be suspended.

“We are looking after the race because that is what we do but I cannot believe that a professional body would allow this thing to happen.”

Asked for what hope there is of resolving this problem, he said: “This situation is a problem that has been around for four years. There have been three arrangements made so far.

“The French sports minister proposed to mediate but the UCI position was no, they did not want to do that.”

Hosting the 2007 start of the Tour de France saw an estimated £88million being spent by spectators, teams and race organisers in London and the south east during the race weekend, as well as boosting cycling participation in London.

Despite the doping scandals which dog the sport, Transport for London also estimate that it generated £35m (€46m) of media coverage.

Livingstone said: “I certainly hope that myself, or my successor, will have another Grand Depart after the 2012 Olympics.”

London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: “We are hungry to bring the race back to further boost cycling and to provide London with another celebration of cycling.

“We have proved that London can manage world-class sporting events.”